Skiing in Vail, CO

Jon, his mom (Sandy), and I hopped a plane for a little bit of skiing in Vail, CO. Vail is special to Jon and I in the first place as that was the place he proposed (ahhhh....memories). Vail is especially special to Jon because he is a natural born skier. Get him to Vail and all you will see is a cloud of snow trailing behind him as he cruises down a black (hard) or double-black (really hard) diamond mountainside. I on the other hand, preferred the safe and cautious approach. That is ski five feet.....stop.....ski five feet.....fall.....cry......fall again.....lose a ski....ski five feet....etc. No, actually I didn't do too bad and I think Jon was pleased with my skills. I am DEFINITELY excited to go back again soon. The Village Square is too damn cute for words and the skiing is killer (beyond the bitter cold we faced which is not typical). I was thrilled to get to know Jon's mom in a manner beyond a dinner here and a dinner there. We really had a chance to learn a lot about each other and I think it was good for everyone involved. This is Jon's "I'm so excited I am going to pee on myself" face. We had just gotten to our hotel and weren't even going to go skiing until the next day. Still, he was as enthusiastic as ever! Jon gearing up for our first day of skiing. He was like a kid in a candy store. I on the other hand was very nervous at this point.

Sandy doing the same....

Me....looking like I put on 50 lbs. This is right before the ski lift opened and I was scared, scared, scared!

The first night out we went to dinner. The Village is decorated with Christmas lights, trees, wreaths, etc. I just loved it. Here is Jon and I at one of the Christmas trees.

Thank God my snow pants are black and you cannot see the unfortunate crotch taco the suspenders gave me.

Me at the top of Eagle's Nest. It was cloudy this particular day, but wow, even so it is such beautiful scenery.

Sandy and I

The Ninja Warrior with a look of fierce determination after being told a hamburger, fries, and Gatorade cost $25. Say what?

Jon and his suspenders. We both learned what it will be like when we are 65 and only suspenders will keep our pants from dropping below our knees.

Sandy getting ready for another day of skiing.

Our group photo.....ohhhhhhhh!

Me modeling my brand new Vail shirt. Actually, Sandy bought it for me for Christmas.

Sandy eating an onion ring.

Me devouring an onion ring. Skiing + Cold Weather = Hungry Keithy

Jon in front of the ice skating rink. You can see snowflakes in the foreground. I am so artistic in my photographs.

Jon standing under a lamppost.

The escalator down was broken, so I snapped this puppy as Jon and his mom were coming down the stairs.

However, the escalator up worked just fine....

If you look close enough, this was the exact moment in the trip when Jon's mom realized I am certifiably insane (but in a fun way of course). If she didn't know about my penchant for goofy pictures before the trip....I guess she does now.

Jon thought it would be funny with me standing under a "One Track Mind" sign. And in fact, he was right.

Sandy and I shopping...

Shop til' I drop

I have no idea

Ignore the Chex Mix and eye in on the apron, which Jon thought I should wear in the kitchen. True, oh so true!

Me lying on my pillow. Could my nose be any bigger in this picture?

Baby Burgaken

Okay, so Jon and I thought it would be a good idea to see what our genes might look like when combined together. Maybe it is a good thing that they haven't figured out how to make a baby with two men's genes because apparently it creates a fungus-like growth on the baby's upper lip. FYI....this is a baby girl and her name would have been Joth Burgaken, which is a unique combination of both of our first and last names. We liked that better than Joke McMaburg.

Major Formatting Issues

Okay, I would like to state for the record that while I am formatting my blog, everything looks and behaves as normal. The second I publish my blog, the spacing gets all funky, my paragraphs run together, my fonts change color, my pictures move, etc. Also, out of nowhere, the spellcheck has stopped working. This is EXTREMELY frustrating and I would just like to say that I would never intentionally do this and strive for high quality, but this is totally beyond my control. Okay, I am off of my soap-box now.

The Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner

The church rehearsal and rehearsal dinner ALMOST went off without a hitch, but how could we tell stories about it for years to come if it weren't for a little bit of drama. Let's see, Kelly got her first bit of bride-gone-off-the-deep end moments prior to the rehearsal which was totally understandable, but also a little bit on the scary side. Just kidding of course......as long as you didn't make eye contact with her. No, she did great and had done such great planning that there wasn't much that could have gone wrong really. The rehearsal was great and it gave us a chance to interact with the rest of the bridal party and meet those we hadn't meet before. The rehearsal dinner was held at Macaroni Grill and was tons o' fun. Kelly and Greg made a nice heartfelt speech and gave out the bridal party gifts. Mine was a gift certificate to Banana Republic, a kitty cat who poos jelly beans, and a beautiful picture frame with family inscriptions on it with a hand drawn picture of me, Jon, Kelly, and Greg in our wedding day attire. Kelly said the hand drawn picture was only until we had a real wedding picture to replace it, but I told her I think the picture she drew was way too cool to replace. The only REALLY bad thing that happened on Friday was a little incident involving Jon, a funny joke my dad told, Jon leaning back for a huge laugh, him sitting on the edge of the bed, falling off the bed and onto his back to the ground, and really hurting his back bad. I knew it had to hurt because all the color drained from his face, he started shaking uncontrollably (as if he went into shock), and he had to go to the doctors to be sure he hadn’t broken a bone. He is very, very sore now, but at least nothing was broken. I guess my dad wins joke teller of the year!!! From top to bottom: Dad, Kent, and Mom Kelly "happily" standing next to the sign the hotel made welcoming her to the hotel. At least the Burgess-Giera Wedding got top booking over Pam's Scrapbooking or Kelly might have taken the manager out at the knee caps. Jon sat in the front seat on the way to the rehearsal and had the cahoonies to take a picture of Kelly right after we got stuck in a massive traffic jam that threatened to make us late to the church. Her eyes alone say, "back the camera away from my face." This is one of my favorite pictures of the whole weekend. Classic father/daughter moment.

The bridal party from behind.

Jon's first physical contact with a girl left him sweaty and confused.

Kelly mid-bite and with a glass of white wine in front of her. Nothing calms the nerves like a big ole' glass of white wine.

A candid shot of the bride and groom.

Denise who sat through dinner with a tiny piece of bacon on her forehead that nobody noticed but me. They all thought it was a beauty mark, but I knew better.

Kelly "attempting" to give a speech that lasted all of 5 seconds before she completely fell to pieces and started crying in a good way of course. Greg took over from there.

Tim, Jon, and Denise.

Joyce, Kelly, and Mom

Katie and I.

My cousin's Austin and Nick.

Rusty's tongue and Katie.

The Wedding Day

Well, the wedding day couldn't have gone any better if Kelly and Greg had been given 5 years to plan it. Everything was gorgeous including the reception site, flowers, bridesmaids..... BUT especially the bride (special mention goes to the bride's mom who also looked more beautiful than I had ever seen)! Kelly looked like she belonged in a bridal gown magazine and her dress looked like an elegant layer cake. She was perfection from her beautiful hair to her beautifully manicured toes which were in her beautiful shoes. She was surprisingly as cool as a cucumber minus her walk down the aisle where she fought back tears of joy with a mixture of laughter. The ceremony was short and sweet and didn't have any major snafu's to report.

The reception was in a gorgeous building with beautiful decorations and went off without a hitch as well EXCEPT for a drunken bridesmaid from another wedding who tried to come into our receptions, steal a gift off the table, to pass it off as her own. Thank goodness Jon and Kelly's friend Amy were watching her like a hawk because we got the present back. The dance floor was always bumping, there was an ice sculpture of a G (for Giera) and a tooth through which they poured martini's, the food was delicious, and the chocolate fountain was a giant hit. Additionally, Kelly and Greg's first dance (to a Mariah Carey song) was sweet and I always get choked up at the father/daughter dance which was to "Through the Years" by Kenny Rogers. Of course bringing it back to me, I was sick with dread at screwing up my toast to Greg and Kelly, but with only a few minor hitches (a few momentary lapses of forgetfulness and trying to talk while holding back an impending flood of tears), it was a success and I am glad to have lived through it.

It was definitely an event to remember and Kelly and Greg should be proud of the beautiful ceremony and reception they put together. And for those inquiring minds that want to know....Mr. & Mrs. Giera are in 85 degree Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic as I type this blog in 32 degree Minneapolis.

The bride drinking a Memosa and getting her hair started.

Dear God! What are they doing to Denise?

Katie Swan getting her locks prepared for the 105 bobby pins that would eventually be put into her hair. Yowsa!

The finished product! Kelly looked like a princess with her tiara and vail.

The salon took good care of us while we were there. They provided us with Memosa's and food. From L to R: Joyce, Denise, and my mom.

Denise showing us her huge "bouquets," but like most women, her left one is a little bit bigger than her right.

Denise, me, and Katie

One of my favorite pictures of the whole day. Jon snapped this candid little photo on the way to the ceremony.

Me, Jon, and Denise in the limo

Mom and Kelly in the limo

The gorgeous bride right before the ceremony starts...

The dress from behind

Mom helping Kelly put on the finishing touches and it show time!

The Bridal Party after the completion of the ceremony.

Me, Denise, Katie Swan, and Katie Davis right after the ceremony.

This was the ice sculpture though which the bartender poured martinis to make them ice cold. You can see the cursive G clear as day, but can you see anything else not immediately visible to the naked eye? How about a tooth?

Katie Swan and I at the head table.

Kelly and Greg's first dance.....awwwwww!!!!

Greg and Kelly cutting into their cake

Jon and Denise hamming it up!

My mom's cousin Chuckie and my mom.

Greg striking his best Uncle Sam pose.

Denise better not be trying to put the moves on my man...

Me looking a sweaty mess after a night of dancing.

Kelly living it up at the reception

Mom and dad busting a move on the dance floor.

My cousins Austin and Shelby with Aunt Robin.

Uncle Randy and Austin. Me, Katie, and Jon

If there was nobody else on the dance floor, you could always count on the Fab Four...me, mom, Joyce, and Aunt Robin. We were ALWAYS dancing.

An end of the night shot if you couldn't tell. Denise....hoping she was Cinderalla....just turned into into a Drunken Pumpkin when she found out the shoe didn't fit.

The next morning. Denise removed her bobby pins the night before, but with all the product and hairspray, this is what she looked like the second she woke up. Jon and I laughed for 10 minutes straight.